News & Information

Judge uses books, art to foster inclusion and kindness

Circuit Judge Charles Williams swapped his comfortable seat in the courtroom to spend time in a tiny chair reading to elementary school students. Judge Williams was a volunteer reader during the Embracing Our Differences Reading Day event at Tuttle Elementary School on March 7th. The 3rd graders were each provided a copy of “Where Are You From?,” by Yamile Saied Mendez.

Judge Williams is a frequent flyer when it comes to visiting classrooms and reading to students. “Because both of my parents were teachers and I literally grew up in classrooms, going to schools to reading to children brings back very fond memories for me and I feel very much at home in classrooms,” he said.

For the past ten years, Embracing Our Differences’ Reading Day has engaged tens of thousands of pre-k through third grade students throughout Sarasota and Manatee counties. The objective has been to show children that reading is fun and important by inspiring student-mentor conversations about inclusion, kindness and respect.

“A new book can be a doorway to affirmation and new perspectives,” said Ben Jewell-Plocher, Embracing Our Difference’s education director. “Our hope is that reading day participants not only recognize themselves in the pages of this year’s titles, but also recognize that what makes an individual ‘different’ is also what makes them beautiful, inside and out,” Jewell-Plocher said.

A few days later, on March 10th, Judge Williams and EOD Director Sarah Wertheimer joined the Sarasota County Bar Association’s Young Lawyers Division at Sarasota Bayfront Park for a tour of the EOD juried art exhibit, consisting of 50 billboard-sized works of art, each featuring an inspirational quote. The outdoor exhibit is the center of the EOD’s year-round program of activities using art to create awareness and promote diversity. According to Judge Williams, “I was very pleased with the turnout and the enthusiasm and interest the lawyers had in the exhibit, we had a great time!”.

This year, organizers said the response to the call for artwork resulted in 13,733 entries from 119 countries and 45 states. Students from 424 national and international schools submitted artwork or quotes to the juried exhibit and more than 65% of submissions were from students.

“The quality of the art was impressive and the quotations by the young people, many of whom were 5th and 6th graders, was thought provoking and inspiring,” Judge Williams said.